Legacy of Three
by Virgil
Summary: An attempt to bridge the gap between the original Zelda cartoon and the first Nintendo 64 video game.


Legend of Zelda: Legacy of Three  
  
By Virgil  
  
The clashing of steel shook through the once-silent forest. The green-clad youth dodged blow after blow, before slicing into the skeletal Stalfos Knight, sending him to the abyss of the Evil Jar. A pig-like Moblin attacked from behind, but the youth dispatched him as well by pivoting on his foot, and delievering a blow with his sword.   
The youth was named Link. He was seemingly normal young man of the time, with a green hat and tunic. He had brown hair and a trace of freckles. In his hands he held a sword and shield. Link surveyed the battle field to see two other adversaries charging from the sides. He lifted his sword to fight only to hear laughter from above.  
"Its about how you look at it, boy." said the new voice. "Never take your eye off the sky."  
Link had no chance to gaze up. Before he could speak a ball of burning light descended on to him. His shield was of little use to him as it was burned away. By the time the fire was extinguished, Link's tunic had been scorched. He lied motionless on the ground, his final thoughts of a beautiful, but sarcastic, princess fading with his last breath.  
***  
Impa watched as the a steel metal piece fell to the floor. She was in a dark room occupied by darkness. She watched as lay on the floor, the image of the youth fading slowly between the metal branches. She brushed back her unnatural gray hair and saw a dark-clad figure ascend from the abyss below her.  
"Another died. Failure," Impa kept her gaze steady on the figure. "Is this part of your ultimate plan, Mage? Let a hero die."  
"I hadn't wished it to end this way," Mage said solemnly.  
"And there is nothing you can do?" Impa looked to the now-rusted piece.  
"Nothing for certain. I could ressurrect him, but another soul may inhabit his body. He may not have a soul at all."   
"Should Zelda know?" Impa was reminded of the princess   
"No. That would only serve to make matter worse." The Mage replied.  
The Mage walked to the abyss below and gazed into the pit. He began waving his gloved hands into the abyss, as if it were a pool. Then the air seemed to glisten like liquid and then ripple about.  
"What you fail to recognize, Impa, is that there are other heroes as there are other evils. But for each hero and his counterparts, there are multiples and doopergangers." The Mage calmly explained.  
Impa watched the Mage drop something into the the abyss. Whatever it was, the abyss remained silent as it seemed to fall to the bottom. Suddenly brilliant light began to crack across the top of the room in jagged forms. A small sphere dropped onto the room, but hovered in the center. It was trailed by a chain of silver links.  
"Behold the collective weapon welded by all Links." the Mage said.  
Between each metal link was an image of a youth. There were thousands of them, all with the basic appearance of Link, but different in nature or clothes. The Mage pressed his hand to the sphere and three metal pieces appeared.  
"These three have already completed their quest, and they await in their dull now-uneventful lives for a new quest." the Mage explained.  
"Three Links in one world? Doubtlessly will cause confusion." Impa rolled her gray eyes.  
"Let the pieces fall where they may." the Mage chanted as he dropped the metal pieces into the abyss. "And let destiny do the rest."  
***  
Child. Savior. Child again. That was the events that followed this Link's live. As he tossed and turned in his bed, he began to remember the events that seemed to change his live forever. First he was revealed to be of Hyrule blood and sent on quest to find help Princess Zelda fight the evil Ganondorf. Then he remembered falling into a sleep and waking a man in a kingdom destroyed by his enemy. But he also remembers finding the Sages, as well as Zelda again. But when victory came, Link was confused. He thought maybe one day life would always be excitement but instead he was returned to his home, the Kokiri Forest, as a child.  
It had been a decade of years since the days of adventure, and Link had grown in body, heart and mind. But he lacked the weapons and magic he had gained. And he doubted he would ever . . .   
There was a bright light. At first Link wondered if he was dying. But then he was lying somewhere else. The small comfort of even his bed had been removed, and now he was lying on the ground. Above him was a small, gentle pink light. As it lowered, Link recognized a two sets of wings. But then he saw a small girl engulfed in the light, with short brown hair.  
"Navi?" he asked.  
"Moblins!" the fairy shouted and darted away like a shooting star.  
As Link sat up, he noticed how much he had grown. He was no longer wore a short green tunic, but a size larger with white tights. Link stood up, hearing himself grunt in a different voice. The youth looked down to see familar weapons stacked on a blanket. He picked up the Hyrule Sword and Shield as well as the Deku Nuts and Longshot. He was busy equiping both weapons of his young self as well as that of his older self when a twig broke in the bushes behind him.  
Suddenly, Link was reminded of the fairy, and the Moblin warnings. Link remembers the large, pig-headed creatures, who charged foreward with their spears held tightly. Link grimaced when he remembered being charged into a wall by the beasts.  
Suddenly the bushes ruffled. Link pulled out his sword and prepared for the rushing beasts. Suddenly, in the clearing, a small pig-like creature stood in place of the monster he expected. Link compared the creature with his hands and looked at the creature. He was at least twice smaller than he expected. The creature roared, or at least wined with fury and charged. Link moved quickly and threw down a Deku Nut, and then slashed the creature across the waist.   
"Behind you."came a small voice.  
Link began to charge the magic within his sword. It gleamed with light and surged with power. When the might was at a climax, Link swung back in full circle, with a wave of energy released on to the attacker behind him, an elbony Stalfos Knight.  
"Navi?." Link asked.  
"It's Spryte! Link? Is that you? You're dressed like him, but . . .you're different." Navi noticed.  
"Well, you are too. You have . . . a body." Link replied.  
"I beg your pardon!" Spryte asked, almost enraged. She then surveyed the creatures at their feet. "You killed them!"  
Link was puzzled, and not for the first time. "The Stalfos Knight was already dead . . .when it attacked."  
"No, I mean something is wrong. Usually they are thrown into an Evil Jar." the fairy told the puzzled Link.  
Suddenly, a cloud of fire emerged in the distance. Link and Spryte rushed to the field. Fire was covering the top of what looked like a castle. Hyrule Castle. Spryte rushed towards the castle, while Link fumbled through his bag.  
"We have to go back to the castle! Something is wrong!" Spryte pleaded.  
Link removed an object. It was something he had dearly missed. It was something he hadn't saw in a long time. He displayed it to Spryte.  
"A flute . . ." Spryte looked strangely at him.  
"An Ocariana." Link said before playing a few notes.  
"You have changed." Spryte replied.  
Suddenly there was a galloping sound. A few minutes later, a horse leapt into view. Link was relieved that not everything had changed. Epona. He leapt onto the horse's back and allowed Spryte to enter one of his pockets. He then rode towards the inferno.  
Zelda called for her father, but recieved no answer. She knew the enemy had breached the castle. She was dressed in her usual purple shirt, vest and form-fitting pants, with bright golden hair.  
"Guards!" she called.  
Suddenly a armor-plated figure appeared from the corner of her eye. When she finally caught full sight of him, she sighed and rolled her eyes. The figure had his visor up, revealing his face.  
"The rest of the soldiers are busy defending the castle. I am all that remain." Link said, in chain mail.  
"Messing in the armory, were we?" Zelda asked, decidedly unamused.  
"Hmm? Your Majesty, is that a new outfit?" the puzzled Link asked.  
"And the wine celler, too? I don';t have time for this. Where is Gannon attacking from?" Zelda asked.  
"But your Majesty . . ." Link began.  
"Save it. Just call me Princess or Zelda." she stammered.  
"Yes . . . er . . .Zelda." Link said.  
"Where is my father?" Zelda suddenly gravely remembered.  
What was left of Hyrule's soldiers and guards stood watched outside the King's bedroom. One hundred proud guards stood watch. Now half remain from the battle. And at their booted feet lied the enemy, decaying bloodthirsty creatures and skeletal beasts. Zelda shoved through the guards to arrive at the palace room's door. She violently kicked it open, to see two Royal Guards keeping her father at bay. But as she saw her father'ss empty eyes, she knew the creature before her was not the King, not her father.  
"Spread out," barked Link. "Secure the castle."  
The soldiers left, leaving the two guards holding the creature at bay. Link pushed his way into the room and grabbed the spear back from the guard. Before Zelda could protest, Link charged the spear with a type of magic power and released it . . . sending the King sprawling across the room. He then motioned for the guards and Zelda. Before the creature could recover, Link slammed the door shut, baracading it with his spear.   
"Don't let him out." Link said.   
Ganondorf appeared on top of the castle. He appeared with his Gerudo cape fluttering in the wind. He looked down to see several of his minions sprawled out among dead Hyrule soldiers.  
"This will never do!" Gannondorf said. With a gesture, the corpses lifted as if rising from eternal slumber.  
Suddenly, a crossbolt sliced through the newly resurrected. The boomerang returned safetly to the hands of Zelda, who wrinkled her nose as the pieces of dead flesh that lay on the boomerang.   
The armored Link rushed foreward, finishing off his minions and then charging into Ganondorf. But Link's spear drove all the way through him and did no damage. Ganondorf only laughed.  
"You know what stops armor? Rust." Ganondorf laughed as Link suddenly couldn't move at all. His armor had become so rusted, Link was only a statue at Ganondorf's feet.  
Zelda's crossbolt had again only sliced through the phantom as if he was only air. But she kept her wits and stood, prepared for battle, hand to hand. Suddenly a green figure darted in front of her with a broadsword brandished.  
"Another Link?," Zelda was puzzled. "Same . . .but like the other one . . .different." Zelda thought. But she had no time to think more as she dodged the attacker's blast.  
"I beat you once, Ganondorf. "I'll beat you again." this Link said.  
The Link in the green tunic whirled about, charging his sword with the same magic the armored Link had, and the releasing it. But again it only sliced through like a phantom.  
"A Poe?" Link said.  
"Thanks for noticing." Ganondorf spat.  
Zelda watched as the other Link quickly evaded a blast with a backflip, and then leapt to a nearby ledge. Before Ganondorf could shoot another blast, the Link shot several arrows into the phantom. But instead of passing through the spectre, they remained a bitter reminded of the phantom's weakness.  
"I can tell you are going to be a constant annoyance." Ganondorf said, launching the arrows back at Link, who blocked them with his shield.  
Suddenly, Ganondorf launched a devasting attack, not at Link, but at the amazed Zelda. She gracefully dodged the first few blasts, but soon a rain of fire accompained the blasts. After one struck her leg, Zelda continued to dodge them, until a blast sent her staggering off her feet, unconscious. Ganondorf held a threatening final blast in his hand, pointed at Zelda.  
"I suggest you stop, or she may pay the consequences." Ganondorf said to Link, who reluctantly threw down his weapons.  
"Such honor, such tragedy." Ganondorf laughed, throwing a blast towards Zelda anyway.  
The blast made its way towards the injured princess. But just as Zelda could feel the heat from the blast on her face, a jagged image picked up the blast. A small swirl of blurring shapes took the full wind of the blow and dragged it along the sky. When it reached an almost predetermined height in the sky, it dive-bombed down towards Ganondorf, crashing into him in an explosion.  
"What the . . ." Ganondorf was outraged.  
Ganondorf was surprised, completely caught of guard. This didn't mean he was ready to admit the attacker was more powerful than he was. But the jolt of reality was enough.  
"Show yourself." Ganondorf roared.  
Suddenly, from the corner of Ganondorf's eye, he could see a figure emerging from the darkness. It was another, hopefully the last, Link. This one was different from the rest. He was embrodiered in darkness, with a shadowy cloak covering his body. His hood had fallen to his side, revealing his features. He was like the other Links in face, elven with blonde hair. But his features were paler as his clothes were darker, almost giving his figure a dramatic black and white complexion.  
"Another comes to die?," Ganondorf said proudly.  
The darker Link brought out a familiar staff. The Link in the green tunic was sure had seen it somewhere. Ganondorf certainly had. His eye widened. Ganondorf decided to take the battle to the darker Link.  
"No, I won't let you." Ganondorf drew back his cape.  
As Ganondorf stepped back, the armored Link, in his rusted armor, once again charged up his spear. When Ganondorf was in distance, he thrust the spear with as much force as he could, working against the armor. The Link in the green tunic continued his with a rain of arrows assulting Ganondorf, who seemed to be trapped in vacum of power. Finally, the darker drew a familar bottle out from within his cloak. Ganondorf was suddenly blaze in a fiery light, escaping upwards towards the sky. But he stopped midway.  
"And when the princess awakes, tell her I hold the souls of her father and her Link. And I'll be back for you, whoever you are." he laughed as he disappeared. The green-clad Link helped Zelda up, who returned the kindness with a slap to the face. Link sighed as she distanced herself from the group.  
"Just who are you? All of you. And don't say Link!" she raised her tone.  
"I am . . .Link . . ."; the green-clad one said, only to catch the gaze of the princess. ". . .of the Kolkiri, later Hyrule."  
"The Ko-what?." she stammered.  
"And I . . . " came a voice from the ground. Zelda looked to see the guard struggling with his rusty armor. "Never fear for I am the loyal guard of Hyrule," the armored Link said. Zelda knelt down to try to help the guard with his armor. But as his lips became notably close to her face, she threw him to the ground, leaving his as helpless as a turtle.  
"And that leaves you . . ." Zelda looked to see the dark Link turned with cloak flowing in the gentle breeze.  
"Link of the Poe Hunters." he quietly.  
"Fine! Poe, Guard and . . .Ko . . ." Zelda tried to remember the name the green- clad Link had said.  
"Kolkiri." Link finished. He had his attention turned to the Poe Hunter.  
"That's what I'm calling you." Zelda finished.  
"And you are?" Poe Hunter asked. She was astoninished by this man asking her name.   
"Zelda. Princess Zelda." she answered.  
"There were other forces at work here. It wasn't natural. And it wasn't Ganondorf." Poe Hunter turned his back on her.  
"There's something else," Link of the Kolkiri began. "He said he has the soul of your father and another Link."  
"Oh, God." Zelda's eye widened, but she didn't cry. "No."  
The three watched as Zelda hurried off. Link of the Kolkiri hurried off after her, with Poe Hunter close behind. Link of the Guards remained sprawled on the ground.  
"Hey . . ." he began. "Oh, no. Link of the Guard needs no aid from others. You hear. Please. Anyone."  
  
The End 


End file.
